(Mark 5:37-40 NIV) He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. When they came to the home of the synagogue ruler, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.” But they laughed at him. After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was.
This morning we continue our new series entitled, “Faith and Patience VOL III – Never Give Up!” by wrapping up the story of Jairus and his daughter. Yesterday we saw how Jesus got rid of all the distracters in order to bring about the breakthrough. Once everyone was gone, Jesus did exactly what Jairus believed He would do – He touched the little girl and she came back to life. What I want to highlight this morning, as we wrap up this story, is the timeline. This all happened in a short span of time (probably a couple of hours).
The reason why it is important to bring up the time span is because most of the stories I have shared with you to this point happened over the span of years. Sometimes your breakthrough will not come for years. Abraham waited 24 years for Isaac, David waited 13 years for the throne, Joseph waited over 20 years for his dream to come to pass, and Caleb waited 45 years for his mountain. When you have to wait that long it is obvious that the temptation to give up, cave in, and quit is going to be present. When you have to stand in faith for the long run the devil will crank up the heat on you, in hopes that you relax the grip you have on your faith and throw in the towel. If you do, you won’t receive what God promised, but it won’t be because God did not want to give it to you, or because the devil beat you. In essence, you beat yourself when you quit.
While we can all rationalize the pressure people face when they are standing for the long haul, I have to tell you that the same pressure is present in short and intense situations. No one could tell Jairus that he did not feel the pressure to give up. Even though Jairus’ situation only lasted a couple of hours, those were intense hours. Jairus had to swallow his pride, fall at the feet of Jesus, make a public declaration of faith, and then wait for Jesus’ response. Once Jesus responded positively I am sure Jairus was elated. His heart must have been bubbling over while Jesus was walking with him to his house. However, I am sure Jairus was feeling the pressure while Jesus was talking to the woman with the issue of blood. The more she talked, the more he wanted her to shut up. And then, all of a sudden, the unthinkable happened. Jairus received word that his daughter was dead. As fear flooded his body Jesus said, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” Jairus kept believing and his daughter was raised back to life!
So what does this mean to you today? It simply means that you must remain in faith and never give up regardless of how long the situation you are facing lasts. Sometimes your faith-fight lasts years and sometimes it only lasts minutes, but either way, you must resist the pressure to give up, cave in, and quit. If you add patience to your faith, you will see the manifestation of God’s promises in your life!
Closing Confession: Father, I thank You for this Word. I already knew that I must hold on for the long haul. I already understood that there will be things that I will have to stand in faith for, for weeks, months, and years. However, I thank You for this reminder that I must apply the same principles of faith to situations that only last seconds, minutes, and hours. Regardless of the time span, I must remain in faith, I must not cast away my confidence, and I must never give up, cave in, or quit. Therefore, I declare that my faith shall be intact every day of my life. Even when the pressure is on, and when the enemy cranks up the heat on me, I refuse to give up and to stop believing. Whether it is for a few intense hours or for a prolonged period of time, I am a believer and I shall believe until I see in my hands what I have received in my heart! In Jesus’ name. Amen!
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper!
